The Lyon Trilogy (3 page)

"Tell me something, Jared, is she
going to turn my place upside down?"

"Nah...Well not in a bad way
anyhow."

I looked at him full on with the do not
fuck with me glare.

"What am I in for?"

"All I will say is that it's good to
see some of the old Kat again, after what those fucks did to her—"

He stopped short and cut himself off, I
felt a burning in my gut as my fists curled.

"What fucks, what're you talking
about?"

"Fuck, it's not my story to
tell..."

"Bull fucking shit, somebody hurt
her?"

Why the fuck was I so angry at the mere
thought? I looked towards the door she'd just gone through. What the fuck was
going on here?

"I can't tell you man. It's up to her
who she tells, but just know it was a bad scene, and she came out of it okay,
but...fuck man it was bad."

I somehow found myself following her into
the office, never mind that the man I've been trying to pin down for the last
year was even now waiting for me to conduct business. The type of business that
could keep me and the boys busy for the foreseeable future, not to mention make
a fuck load of money, and get our bikes recognized worldwide, along with a
whole lot of other perks.

Jared had hinted at something sinister in
her past, and foolish or not, I had the need to see her, and to make sure she
was okay.

She was back behind the computer, her eyes
glued to the screen in concentration, or she was giving a good impression of
concentrating anyway.

I took the time to study her, and I saw
that she had her hair pulled back in a tight bun with two pencils sticking out
of it.

The ugly gray suit jacket looked like a
box on her small frame as she hunched her shoulders.

When she looked up I was caught once again
by the unparalleled beauty of her eyes. They were a deep indigo blue, without a
speck of black. More than that, the thing that made them shine were the whites,
and there was no blemish, no redness, nothing.

Just clean, clear whites, like a baby's.

I could get lost in them, or maybe not.

She flicked her eyes my way and back down
again, hunching her shoulders even more.

"What do you have to say for
yourself, Sloan?"

"Uhm..." She bit her lip and
hung her head.

"Sorry?"

"Why do you phrase every thing like
question?"

"I didn't know I was doing that si...
I mean Colton."

"You want to tell me what went on
with you and Grimaldi?"

"The gentleman was a little
unpleasant..."

"Tell it like it is, the old fuck is
a rude asshole. What I want to know is what you did that caused him to offer me
a deal that he's been waffling on for almost a year.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing."

She sure could do innocent well. If I
hadn't heard her light into him, then I would've sworn she was a timid little
thing, but I'd gotten a glimpse of the fire inside her.

"Didn't I tell you if anyone bothered
you, you were to come see me?"

"Uh, well, he got here too fast for me
to do anything."

Don't let that shit happen again…"

The phone rang and interrupted me.

Just as well because I was running out of
shit to pick at as an excuse to stay.

Why the hell I should want to was beyond
me. The girl, even though she had amazing eyes, dressed and acted like
someone's grandmother.

That is, when she wasn't spitting fire
like a hellcat.

"Yes ma'am, he's right
here...Katarina ma'am...no ma'am it's my first day...yesterday."

I heard my mother's squeal from across the
room. Shit.

I walked over to take the phone before she
said God knows what.

"I'll take that."

She handed over the phone with a frown.

Mom tended to have that effect on
unsuspecting people.

"Mom…"

"She's the one Colton, Char was
right, I can't wait to tell her, when can I meet her..." She went on and
on not letting me get a word in edgewise.

"Mom, no, not going to happen now.
Why were you calling?"

"The annual Memorial Day barbecue
picnic. You have to remind the guys, I sent out the invites but not everyone
got back as yet, and I need the numbers. I also need to know if there are any
special dishes I need to prepare. You know Linda became a vegetarian last year,
and I just need to stay on top of things, so everyone's taken care of.

Now tell me about Katarina, is she as
sweet as she sounds?"

"We're not having this conversation,
mom."

"Oh, I get it, she's right there.
Never mind we'll talk later, and I want all the details.

“Whee a new daughter, I can't wait…"

"Gotta go, mom, working here."

"Okay, son, talk to you later."
I hung up before she could start in again.

"If that lady calls here do not
divulge any information, or she'll know your whole history in ten seconds flat
trust me."

I hated the fleeting look of sorrow that
flashed across her face.

"I have to get back."

"'Kay."

I walked away wondering about the hint of
pain in her eyes. There was something there, and I wanted to know what the fuck
it was.

If I didn't get some answers real fucking
soon, then I'd just beat that shit out of Jared.

She'll know your whole history in ten seconds
flat
.

What a depressing thought.

I'd been feeling a little giddy then. I'd
gone from facing imminent termination, to landing the boss a lucrative
contract; something I still didn't quite understand but knew it was all good.

Though I did think grumpy old man was bat
shit crazy.

Colton came into the room sucking up all
the oxygen, and I'd sent up a silent prayer of thanks that I'd get to bask in
his glow for yet another day.

Then came the phone call.

Obviously it was his mother, and she
sounded nice enough if a little nosy, so I could so see the truth in his words.

She talks a mile a minute, and she trips
from one topic to the next before you can catch your breath.

I settled back into work for the last
couple hours until it was knockoff time.

Jared was all excited when he came to take
me home.

I barely heard, or understood, a word he
said since I was too busy being bummed that Colton was nowhere in sight.

"So you're going to go right?"

"Huh, go where?"

"The Lyon's barbecue, didn't you hear
a word I said?"

"No, not really."

"Colton's parents, every year they
have a Memorial Day barbecue slash picnic, and you have to come. Everyone's
going to be there, even your dad drops by sometimes if he's not working."

"I don't know, I mean no one invited
me... plus that's only, like, five days away, and I didn't bring anything
suitable to wear to something like that."

I looked down at the butt ugly suit and
nurse Ratchet shoes I was now wearing.

"Come on, Kat, it’ll be fun, and I'll
be there, so nothing will go wrong."

"I don't know, Jared..."

"At least think about it okay."

"Sure, I'll think about it, but no
promises."

"No problem, let's get on the road. I
have a hot date lined up for tonight."

"You're such a dog, Jared, who is she
this time?"

"New chick, you know the chicks dig
me, sexy beast."

"Yeah okay, whatever floats your
boat, at least you got the beast part right."

"Whatever, smart ass."

He put me in a playful headlock just as
Colton turned the corner.

"See ya later boss."

Jared called out as we walked pass.

Didn't he notice that look on Colton's
face? Talk about shooting daggers with your eyes, it's a wonder I wasn't an
ember, and why the hell was he looking at me like I betrayed him. I hope bat
shit guy hadn't changed his mind about the deal. Shit.

That night I called my mom for our nightly
chat. My mom is my sounding board whenever my mind becomes overcrowded.

"So how's the new job sweetie, you
like it?"

"It's fine, mom, pretty easy, but
guess what, so this guy calls today and he's as rude as you want to be, he just
rubbed me the wrong way you know, so I kinda let him have it—"

"Wait a minute, you did what?"

"I put him in his place, next thing I
know he's showing up there."

"He didn't hurt you, did he
baby?" I hated the panic in her voice.

"No, mom, let me tell you, so anyway,
turns out he's this Uber rich old coot with the manners of a wildebeest, but
guess what, he gave the boss a contract to supply him with bikes for all his
ventures and apparently there are a ton of them.

Like, he works with Hollywood and racing
circuits here, and in Europe, among other things.

He said he liked my style, and that's why
he finally decided to give Colton the contract."

"Colton, ooh... first name basis
already, is this Colton handsome?"

"Mom... that's what he wants to be
called."

I won't be telling you about the sir
conversation.

"Are you having fun, baby?"

"I'm fine, mom, promise."

"You'd tell me if something was
bothering you, right?"

"Yes, mom, besides dad's here,
everything's fine. I like my new job, and Jared's there, which makes it easier.

My truck's almost ready, so I should have
a little more freedom soon. Right now I'm pretty much stuck in the house, but
that's cool. Not much to do around here anyway... wait a minute mom, someone's
on the other line."

I put her on hold and clicked over.

The number didn't look familiar, but it
was local.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Katarina?"

"Uh, yes?"

Why did this voice sound familiar, and
not, at the same time?

"This is Elena Lyon, we spoke earlier
today."

"Oh, hi."

Why the heck was Colton's mother calling
me? Please lady, don't ask me any leading questions, please please, please.

"I bet you're wondering why I'm
calling when we've never even met.

I got your number from Jared, he's such a
good boy, anyway I'm calling to invite you personally to our annual barbecue
picnic on Monday. I know it's short notice, but I didn't know about you until
today, so you can't refuse.

I won't take no for an answer, besides
there's nothing else to do in this town on that day. Everyone comes to my
little get-togethers, and you'll have a great time, great food, nice company,
what more can you ask. Besides, it'll be a great opportunity to meet the wives
of the guys you work with, so it'll be wonderful.

So I'll see you at about one, we like to
start early and make a whole day and evening of it. If you need a ride that's
okay too; I can certainly arrange that for you, so we're set then, yes?"

"Uh, sure, okay."

Geez, the lady's a steamroller.

I hurried her off before she had me
agreeing to God knows what, and for some unknown reason, my heart was beating
unusually fast.

"Mom, can I talk to you later?"

"Sure baby, everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine I just have
to do something."

I hung up with my mother and fell back
against the bed. A barbecue picnic with people; and from the sound of it a lot
of people.

No wonder my heart was beating out of
sync.

What a way to throw yourself into deep end
Kat.

Oh well, you can't change your mind now
and offend the boss's mother, so it's sink or swim time.

Ha, my son thinks he can outsmart me, good
luck with that. The boy has always been a bit too brainy for his own good, but
nothing beats a mother on the hunt for a daughter-in-law and grand babies.

Shoot, Stacy had already declared herself
out of the running since her and Em had been trying for years without success,
and she refused to try artificial insemination, and Carol was nowhere near
ready.

Anyway, my girl Char might be a crackpot
but she knows her stuff.

My son had the nerve to lie to me
repeatedly over dinner last night; he'll pay for that.

'No, mom, I didn't meet any girls today.'